Cracking Foundation
by Kaarina Riddle
Summary: Hermione is heartbroken after Octavius Pike leaves her in the dark, Draco Malfoy comes in to help. What will happen? Will there be more heartbreak? Will they find love?


**This was my entry for Platform Nine and Three Quarters Heartbreak OS Contest 2018, it won the following awards; Best Plot Twist, Best Tie in to the Prompt, Best Male Characterisation, Runner Up Best Romance, Runner Up Best Angst, Runner Up Best Mystery, Runner Up Overall Characterisation, Runner Up Overall Favourite, Runner Up Judges Fave, Third Place Runner Up Best Ending and Third Place Runner Up (Tied) Aesthetically Pleasing.**

 **Beta/Alpha love goes to the AMAZING SandraSempra! Who is forever supporting and encouraging me and turns my messy thoughts into something beautiful! Thank you so much for all you do for me boo xxx**

 **I would like to acknowledge that all of the writers know that the Harry Potter characters, locations and any plot lines used are the property of J.K. Rowling and Bloomsbury/Scholastic. No profit is being made, and no copyright infringement is intended.**

* * *

 _'I'm sorry Hermione I just can't be in this anymore, I don't think I feel the same way._ ' These words were reverberating through her thoughts as the tears leaked down her face. Octavius had been the only one she had been able to connect with after so much suffering - finding solace in one another. But now he was gone, and she found herself left alone in the cold, dark manor by herself. She had moved into the Order's Safehouse months ago and only a few were privy to where it was located. She preferred it that way, finding these days of solitude eased the loneliness and helped soothe her still fresh open wounds.

Her parents were lost to her, the memory charm having been impossible to reverse. Healers had been attempting for months with no progress, had giving up and returning them to their lives in Western Australia. Their life _without_ her. Hermione was given the bad news mere hours after Octavius had delivered his blow to her. It was then she had withdrawn from everyone, recoiling if anyone tried to draw her back out, and sending them away. There were only a few people allowed near her: Remus and Tonks, Sirius, Harry, Ron, Ginny and to everyone's surprise, Draco Malfoy.

Draco had become her rock to lean on, bringing meals late at night to ensure she was still looking after herself. Truth be told she hadn't. After the news of her parents, she had lost all hope of her family being reunited or being whole again. She had lost all motivation after Octavius had left her in the dumps. Her entire world had come crashing down -all save for Draco.

She had taken long service leave off of work, not wanting to see people and their happy families. She felt it was better she stay inside and away, only having her few close friends visit her here, away from the outside world.

"Hermione, come on, you can't stay here forever." His gravelly voice came from behind her and she heard his footsteps falling and getting closer. She turned and looked into his grey eyes and felt herself relax for the first time in what felt like days. He was the only one that wouldn't mollycoddle her and he would tell her how it was. She needed him more than even she wanted to admit. It was going to be a long road to being able to face the world again.

Maybe one day she would come across a cure for memory charms, but until then she would accept the loneliness as punishment for what she had done to her parents. An act to keep them less vulnerable for attack only amplified her own vulnerability. Erasing someone's memories was deplorable. The only reason she wasn't in Azkaban rotting away was that she was a known war hero, and no one wanted to go against Harry Potter - The Chosen one; the saviour of both the Wizarding and Muggle worlds. He had publicly said she was his sister and that was the day she became _untouchable_.

It seemed crazy to think those would turn a blind eye for the sheer fact of who she associated with. Octavius saw through this. He didn't pity or excuse her actions. He accepted them because of who she was - not of the company she kept. That was, until, he left her. Everyone leaves eventually

 **oOo**

Draco knew the only way to get Hermione back to herself was to take her out and force her to interact with actual people. So, he told her to get dressed and he would come over shortly. When he arrived at the manor, she was waiting in the den. To him, she looked absolutely gorgeous in her emerald green dress that fell just above her knees, exposing her skin. Though paler than her days before her self proclaimed isolation, her skin was smooth. She had matching heels and a clutch like the beaded bag she usually carried around.

Draco looked her up and down several times to take it all in and get his thoughts together before crossing the room and laying a light kiss on each cheek. "You look absolutely gorgeous, Hermione."

"Thank you." She said looking down at her feet. As she brought her eyes back up to meet him, she seemed to take in his black dress pants and navy blue business shirt. "You don't look half bad yourself, Draco."

Smiling at one another, Draco offered Hermione his arm. Once she had accepted, and was completely in his hold, he apparated them into an alley. He casually led her through the cobbled streets to a restaurant that she had never been before. She didn't even know most of this section of the wizard town was there if she was being honest, and she had been there a lot in the last ten years. It was strange how even after all this time things could still surprise her, but these days, _everything_ was a surprise to her - especially the wizard who was currently on her arm. He had changed so much over the years since the war ended.

"I have a reservation for two under Malfoy." Draco spoke to the young waitress, who was looking him up and down like she wouldn't mind having him for a meal.

"Right this way, Mr Malfoy." They followed her through the exclusive restaurant and Hermione noticed mostly couples sitting at the tables, hoping Draco wasn't expecting more of this evening than she was willing to give. It was her first outing after Octavius had left her and she was still not her best. It was still a struggle to get out of bed let alone come out in public like this.

Hermione's inner dialogue was interrupted by Draco nudging her, whilst he held out her chair waiting for her to be seated. Shaking herself off she sat down, thanking him.

"Do you mind if I order for us? There's only one meal here you really want to experience." Hermione nodded, accepting his request silently. "We will have two of the chef's special pasta dish served with your best bottle of Sangiovese red."

Hermione remembered from her parents' dinner parties that the Sangiovese red was served with creamy pastas.

"So a cream based pasta?"

"How'd you know that?" His face showed surprise.

"My parents," Hermione paused, her eyes half closed as her mind painted the picture of the memory, "They would always tell me about their dishes and wines when they hosted guests. I think I managed to know the entire do's and don'ts for matching wines by the age of nine." Her eyes sparkled under the lighting of the restaurant; a warm pastime turned cold with regrets. Draco reached his hand onto hers, squeezing as if he knew she was struggling. His touch simmered the emotions to a tolerable level, and she couldn't have been more grateful for the simple gesture.

"My parents used to do the same. One more thing we have in common." He said in a soft tone.

Hermione smiled at him and then pulled her eyes to try and escape his gaze. She saw the waitress coming back with two bowls and someone following behind with a bottle of wine and two glasses.

Draco directed them to let her taste the wine and a small amount was poured in her glass. Taking a sip and swishing it around in her mouth, she let it sit on her tongue and seep in. She relished the taste of a slight plum flavour added in with the grapes. "It's perfect, thank you."

Hermione took the first bite of her dish and moaned in delight. The food was exquisite - not too creamy and not too heavy. They were silent during their meal, both having been brought up with the belief that a meal was more important with manners than talking was. When both had finished and had more wine than they should have, the waitress came back to check on them..

"Can we please get the cheque?"

Hermione hoped he would allow her to just return home. She had enjoyed the night, but it was getting to be a bit much, she hadn't been out this long in weeks after all.

After he had signed for the money to come out of his vaults, he stood and came around to her to help her out of her chair, "Time for home?"

Hermione nodded, thankful he knew she had enough of being out and was considerate enough to think of her. He took her back through the alleys to the apparition point, and she didn't mind that he had a hold of her arm and took control. Arriving home, he escorted her to the door and kissed her on the cheek.

"Thank you for coming out with me tonight but I think it's time I go home so I can be up early for work tomorrow. I hope you had a good night."

Hermione nodded, "It was perfect. Thank you, you know, for forcing me out. Have a good rest of your night."

Draco lingered for her to go into the house and waited until he heard the lock before apparating away to his house. Collapsing on his bed he smiled, he had gotten her out of the house and given her a fun night. The night was a success in his mind.

 **oOo**

Since that night, Draco had managed to coerce Hermione into leaving the manor more often, slowly. They were walking through Diagon Alley when it happened - she looked across the street as they exited and saw the last person she ever wanted to see, and he looked good. Too good.

Pulling on Draco's sleeve, she directed him back into the store. She was tense, and he gave her a confused face as he looked out the store window. "Oh."

"Yes, _OH_ , lets hide in here until he moves further through the alley."

"I'm sorry, I didn't think he would be out today. He said he was quite busy when I asked if he wanted to grab a drink." Draco said, looking at her with pity.

"Please don't look at me like that. I'm not to be pitied. I just don't want to see him at the moment."

Hermione peered out the window and groaned. He was standing directly outside of the shop as if he was looking for something or _someone_. What if he had seen her?

Draco decided he would walk out and talk to him so he could get Octavius far away from Hermione. Her face had fallen as soon as she had seen him and this was meant to be a fun day to get her out of her funk not put her further into her depressive state.

Not long after he went out of the store, Draco reentered smiling, a clueless Octavius walking away down the alley. "There, now let's finish our shopping and head home so you can relax."

Hermione had never been more grateful to Draco than she had in that moment.

 **oOo**

Draco walked into the safe house with the Chinese he had picked up on request. Hermione seemed to be better each time he came and visited. She still hadn't gone back to work, but he felt with all she had done during the war and she had been put through since was enough to send most into a mental ward.

Harry had said the last time he had visited he had been able to convince her to go and sit on the back loveseat and stay in the sun for a few hours and that she seemed to have perked up a bit since they had been going out on small trips. When they had seen Octavius Pike, Draco had feared she would fall back into her pit, but she had been remaining strong and seemed to be enjoying the little things again.

Movie night every Monday, Wednesday, Friday and Saturday seemed to have helped her a lot and she had started to laugh again… it may have been at the slightly sad moments, but it _was_ progress. Draco was willing to stick with her through everything - she had been the one that had kept him out of Azkaban when they had first started the trials.

Walking around the house he tried to find Hermione, but she was not in most of the rooms they usually occupied, calling out "Hermione," he waited to hear her voice float down from upstairs and followed it until he found an open door at the end of the hallway. Walking in he found why she hadn't heard him enter - it was a library.

The only place he knew she could relax. Smiling, he summoned some pillows and some cutlery and sat the meal and drinks down gesturing for her to join. He didn't see the need for her to go down stairs when she would only be lost in thought about the books up here.

"Dig in and then we can explore more, you cretin," he stated as he saw her bouncing in place trying to contain her excitement about the many old tomes that had been collected by the Order. Hermione slowly ate her food, her eyes flicking around the room and Draco smirked - she was funny and predictable around books.

They ate and started to slowly look through the library. Draco wondered if there was a way to remove the mark somewhere hidden in this expansive room. It surely had an undetectable extension charm on it as from the outside of the house, this room wouldn't fit. It looked as if it went back for miles and there were _thousands_ of books waiting for them to explore and learn all that they could.

Draco looked at the serene look that came over Hermione as she got lost in a book and knew he was going to make sure that look stayed on her face. She was the only one from the opposing side of the war, besides Harry, that had fully forgiven him. He didn't want to lose either of them.

After a time, Draco made his leave. Lately he had found himself with his own reading, studying up on how to perfect a potion that reverse the effects of memory loss. It began as a personal assignment he gave himself for the order, but it became more personal once his relationship with Hermione progressed. He wouldn't stop until it was a reality.

 **oOo**

Draco had owled her the next morning and told her to be ready for lunch out. He was taking her somewhere she had never been before that he loved. Hermione looked down at the outfit she had picked and questioned whether or not it was too casual and whether it would send signals to Draco that she would rather not send.

She wasn't ready for a relationship after everything she had been through with Octavius, but she knew she had to start opening her mind to the idea again, and she couldn't let herself waste away inside over a man. It wasn't how she was built and it wasn't how her parents had raised her either. So with time, she allowed Draco to have his moments where he thought he was forcing her out, but she had actually started to look forward to their outings.

There was a knock at the door as she put the finishing touches on her hair and she quickly crossed the room to open and let him out of the cold. He was in a navy blue three piece suit with a nice, thick overcoat and scarf to match. She had picked right with her clothes, not too casual and not too formal. He smiled down at her and gestured for her to head out to the waiting town car before him.

"You look beautiful, Hermione," he said as he opened the back door of the car for her with a smile.

She slid across the car, "Thank you, Draco, you don't look so bad yourself. Now are you going to tell me where we are going?"

"No, I'm going to leave it as a surprise. That's _half_ the fun of taking people out." He allowed a slight chuckle to leak from his lips at the end of his sentence.

Rolling her eyes, she looked out the window as the car took off. Buildings flashed past as they started to drive through London and it wasn't until they started to head out of the city that she questioned whether it was a good idea to let him take control again. Maybe she should start picking the places they went - she'd feel more comfortable being the one in control.

They were driving a good thirty minutes in silence, Draco madly texting on his phone and Hermione watching the city dwindle into nothing and the open fields as far as the eye could see. Then they started to slow and the driver turned off onto a narrow, dirt road.

They weren't on the road long before a large farmhouse appeared and a sign proclaiming it to be farmer's restaurant. It had Hermione smiling - these types of places were one of her favourites. It looked to be slightly more upper class than the ones she had previously been to, but nonetheless it was going to be something she loved. Draco got out of the car and walked around the back, stopping to open the door for her and reaching his hand in to help her out of the car. The small heels of her shoes sunk into the ground slightly and it was hard to walk across to the wrap around veranda, but with Draco's help they were soon being seated inside where couples and families sat enjoying their weekend getaway from the city.

Draco declined the menus and told the waitress that they would have the shepherds pie and a glass of red to go with it. She smiled at them and walked off.

"It's a nice little restaurant they set up a few years ago, a magical couple own and run it but they cater to muggles as well, the barn out the back was converted to a hostel and then down the way a bit is another hostel for those who can't afford to rent anywhere in the city or are homeless."

"Oh that's wonderful that they take care of the poor as well, I love helping places like this. Mum and Dad used to take me to them all the time when I was younger and we would help the owners feed the homeless." Hermione said.

"Harry told me, I thought I'd show you there's something like that close by so you can occasionally escape if you need." Draco's voice was softer than usual and it endeared him to Hermione. Flashing back to all the times her mother used to cook that very dish, she looked at Draco in a new light. It was one of her favourites and always reminded her of home, how was it that he picked the exact dish she felt like she needed in that moment?

"Thank you Draco" she smiled and saw the waitress coming back with two plates and an older man coming with the wine, Draco had requested.

Throughout the meal they remained silent, simply enjoying the others company and meal and it wasn't too much after they had cleared their plates that Draco apologised that they had to leave but he had some things to do at his office and they couldn't wait until the next day.

The drive to the safe house seemed to take much less time and Hermione suddenly found herself wishing they could have stayed out longer it had been a fun time.

Draco lingered only a moment, pecking her on the cheek as he took her to the door and then it was just her again and in the silence the weight of her grief over her parents and heartbreak from Octavius came crashing down upon her as it did whenever she was alone. Would it always hurt this much? She certainly hoped not soon she would have to get back to life and she couldn't be worrying about what she would feel when she was alone when she did return to work.

 **oOo**

Hermione had called Draco and asked if they could go out for the first time since the last Valentines Day and she felt like she was finally making progress, her mood had improved slowly over the months and Draco had been a big factor in that progress so he was who she called for whenever she needed company or she wanted to go out. He was her knight in shining armour.

He was due in any moment and then they were going to Hogsmeade and seeing the new stationary store that had opened up. It was a perfect day to walk through the old village.

A knock on the door pulled her out of her thoughts and pushed her to getting ready faster. "Come in" she shouted.

As she slipped on her last shoe, Draco entered the room and looked at her with awe in his eyes. She looked down at her feet and then pushed him toward the Floo Network so they could get going and not explore what that look was about. She wasn't ready for that yet.

When they exited the fire into the Three Broomsticks, Hermione didn't expect to come straight into Octavius' strong arms. Why did he have to be there at that moment?

"Hermione! How are you?" He said.

Shocked to see him she simply stared up at him until he shook her slightly, "Oh, Hi Octavius, I'm good. How are you?"

"I've been better, I've missed talking to you."

Draco cleared his throat and a scowl was spread across his features. Hermione had completely forgotten he was there in that moment. It was being in Octavius' arms again, she loved the safe feeling that overcame her when he would touch her.

"Hi Draco, how are you?"

"I'd be better if I wasn't here, you were the one that dumped her, and you miss her?" Hermione was shocked that he would be so forward and defensive.

"People can miss people, Draco and Hermione has always been important to me."

Hermione's head spun back to look at him, why would he say that? He was the one that left her in the dark.

He looked down at her and the frown that he had when he was looking at Draco shifted into a smile. In that moment anything could happen and Hermione would be happy and it was strange that it was the person who broke her heart that helped it go back together. She wasn't going back to him obviously but it would be good to hang around and chat with him again.

She knew she was an idiot but he was her first love and even if they weren't together they could be friends. With seeing Octavius and actually talking to him she didn't want to go to the stationary store anymore all she wanted to do was go home and think about things.

Could she really bring him back into her life?

 **oOo**

Hermione was straightening the bush she called hair when her phone started ringing. Placing the straightener down on the vanity, she ran out to the den and picked up without checking the caller id, assuming it was Draco or Harry calling to check in.

"Happy birthday, Hermione." The deep, growl came over the line.

"Hello Octavius." Hermione's voice hitched slightly, breathless. She blamed the reaction on the swift strides to the phone and _not_ the smooth, collected voice on the other end of her phone

"How was your day? I wanted to call earlier, but assumed you would be out."

"Oh, it was relaxing," she made her tone stronger than she actually felt inside. "I spent a spa day with Ginny and now I'm getting ready for a dinner with Harry and Draco."

There was a pause on the other end, "Oh, so you're still spending a lot of time with Draco then?"

"What's that supposed to mean, Octavius?" Hermione said with her mood suddenly crashing. _Why did he have to do this on her birthday?_

"Oh nothing.. I was just curious as to what you two have been doing?"

Hermione was baffled as to why he wanted to know, but she humored him anyway, "We are simply hanging out, Pike. He helped me a lot back when needed a friend the most. You know, since you left so abruptly."

Being blunt about the subject was the only way to get Octavius to be honest about how he was feeling - it was always his way.

"I really am sorry about leaving you like that, love. I never felt you deserved the reputation my family had come by." He sighed at the end of his sentence.

Hermione's breath failed her, his words not truly satisfying the remnants of her heart in her chest. Octavius failed to see the pain he caused by his actions. The very actions he claimed to protect her from. "I know that, Octavius. But I needed you. You worried over my reputation but that wasn't what was in peril. I would have dealt with anything as long as it meant being with you."

"I know that now, Hermione. Can we please start over? Friends?" He said with a hopeful note to his voice.

"Okay, Octavius. But let's take this slow."

They managed to talk for a bit longer until Harry came into the house, pushing her into finish getting ready. Hanging up, she rushed around madly, getting ready and followed Harry to the restaurant Draco had taken her to the last time. Octavius remained in her thoughts the whole evening and Draco kept questioning on why she was distracted.

Making her excuses to avoid further probing, she pretended she was interested for the rest of the night. They wouldn't like it if they knew who she was on the phone to.

Near the end of dinner, Ron joined them, sitting down for the birthday cake. He always had the perfect timing in terms of food. They laughed about old school memories and Hermione relaxed, Octavius leaving her mind again as she enjoyed the rest of the night.

 **oOo**

One Thursday morning when Hermione was meant to start backe fulltime at work, she had called in sick and stayed home. It was starting to get overwhelming - both Draco and Octavius were continuously hanging around her office.

In the beginning it was good to have them both there. But now, it only confused the hell out of her. She was starting to see Draco in a different light to when they had first become friends and Octavius was just confusing her heart. They were both there always showing her who she should choose but her mind and heart were at war.

In her mind Draco definitely deserved a chance and he had been there for her through so much, always lending an ear or shoulder when she wanted to cry or telling her to get up and out of the house when he thought she had spent too much time inside.

Whereas, her heart still jumped a beat when Octavius entered a room or he called her to see how her day had gone.

It was all getting too complicated and she couldn't keep it up she'd have to decide soon so she didn't lead one of them on and then have to break their heart. She wasn't that type of person at all.

They however didn't see that they weren't making her choice easy, they were both really sweet and went out of their way to do things.

Like the other day, Draco had gone to the other side of London to get her favourite cake for lunch as they had found her lunch had been taken out of the cool cupboard and left to fester.

But then that night after a hard day at work, Octavius was there messaging her feet and rubbing her neck to get all the knots out and he had run her a hot bubble bath to soak away the night in.

They weren't going to make it easy for her heart or mind to choose and Hermione hated that whoever she chose the other was going to get hurt. Both the men in her life were amazing people who deserved the very best.

 **oOo**

Draco looked at the table spread out before him, he had set the terrace up with rose petals spread out, candles and had made the pasta they had on their first dinner with a decadent strawberries and chocolate for dessert ready for Hermione to come over for dinner. As he made the last adjustment to the table he heard a noise from below and knew Hermione was here, it was time he tell her how he feels. It had been months and he had been hiding his feelings since way before Octavius had left her broken and he couldn't hold on any longer.

"Draco? Where are you?" Her heavenly voice drifted up the stairs to him and he made his way through his upstairs study and out into the hallway. Standing at the top of the stairs he called down to her to come up and gasped when he got his first view of her.

Standing in front of him was a vision of beauty. Hermione was dressed in a navy blue cocktail dress, at the midriff there was a gold belt, the chiffon material clung to her form and her curls were tamed and hung over one shoulder. He gently picked up her left hand and laid a kiss on it. "Absolutely gorgeous dress, shall we?" He gestured back toward his study.

They walked through the study and onto the terrace, Hermione breathed in, the surprise spreading across her features.

He pulled the seat for her and waited before she was comfortable before sitting down himself, pouring her a glass of wine and lifting the silver lid off her plate he revealed the first course to her. She smiled at him and dug in. "How'd you get the chef to cook for you at home?"

"I didn't, I got the recipe off him and made it myself."

As the meal carried on, Draco got more and more nervous as he took a deep breath and went to speak, "Hermione, I have something to say."

She said "Draco, I have something to say" at the same time.

He gestured for her to go first when she laughed and apologised.

"Draco, it's been really nice these last few months and you've really been good to me and I've become close to you."

Draco smiled at her thinking he felt the same and maybe he didn't have to make a fool of himself after all, she seemed to be gearing up to tell him something big so he nodded for her to continue.

"I've had so much fun hanging out with you and I hope to continue to be as close of _friends_ as we've become."

When he heard the way she made sure to emphasise the friends part he felt a sick feeling deep down within him. She wasn't telling him she felt the same way. She wanted them to be friends, but why? They had chemistry.

"But over the last few weeks, me and Octavius have been talking about how things went and he was only doing it to protect me from the bad reputation he had gotten from the war and we've decided to try our relationship again, I really hope this won't change things between us, he's okay with us being friends." her voice trailed off into nothing and all Draco could do was repeat her words over in his head again. She was getting back with Octavius after all he had done to her.

After all these months of her being broken and Draco building her back up she was really going back to him. How could she do this?

"I don't understand."

"I'm really sorry Draco, he's the one for me he's always been the one for me."

Draco remained silent thinking about how much effort he had put into this night and he felt his heart cracking, the pain was unbearable and he stood and rushed inside up to his bathroom locking himself in.

Taking deep breaths in and out trying to calm himself he took a moment before heading back down to the terrace he found her gone.

Of course she left, she was probably back at her house with Octavius right at this moment and he was all alone once again. He was glad he hadn't gotten the chance to lay his heart out for her to crush further. At least she didn't know how he felt.

 **oOo**

Hermione had taken a while to settle back into routine with Octavius after he had left her broken, Draco hadn't talked to her since their dinner, when she had given him the news that she was getting back with Octavius. She thought back to that night and knew Draco was right when they should take some time to separate their feelings and learn the new- old dynamic.

She had seen him around the Wizarding Community and at the Ministry of Magic but he had avoided contact with her thus far. He was heartbroken as she was when Octavius had left her in the lurch and she really felt for him but sometimes, all your one love had to say was they wanted to get back together and that was that, you went back to old habits and hoped they didn't leave you again.

"Hermione, love. When are you coming back to bed?" The deep voice filled with sleepiness came from behind her. When she turned and faced him she saw his mussed Brown hair and sleep filled chocolate eyes and smiled, this was what had drawn her to him in the first place. He had a way of showing her, he was all in just by the way he filled her house with his things again.

Peering around the room she saw some of his clothes strewn around and pictures of his family and friends, with anyone else it would annoy her but with Octavius it only endeared him to her more.

Walking over to him and threading her fingers through his thick hair, she stood on her toes and sealed her lips over his, for a moment she lost herself in the kiss and then pulled back smiling, "I love you, Octavius, thank you for bringing my heart back."

"I love you too, Hermione, I couldn't very well go around without my heart now could I?" Smiling down at her sweetly he kissed her softly again. "Now are you coming back to bed or are we watching a movie?"

Hermione paused thinking, grabbing his hand she dragged him over to the lounge and pulled him down with her, "Lets watch a movie, we don't have anything on tomorrow so we can have a lazy day."

Nodding he grabbed the remote and went to Netflix, picking The Proposal, knowing that when she was in the mood for a lazy day the next day that was her go to film. He didn't mind today as it got him thinking of how he could propose to her and how he would get Harry's permission first. Knowing that he was the closest thing she had to family after the war.

Hermione leant on his chest relaxing for the first time that day, kissing her on the head he settled in knowing that she was his and no one was getting in the way of them again. He had been an idiot listening to his parents and letting them convince she was too good for him and she'd never love him enough to make up for his rough life from the war.

What they didn't know, was that the two of them had helped each other heal their wounds and had grown stronger and closer for it. Octavius wasn't letting her get away.

Not even halfway through the movie, he heard the light snores and smiled. Standing slowly and placing one arm behind her back and the other under her knees, he lifted and carried her to their bedroom, slowly placing her on the bed he covered her with the duvet and curled up behind her falling asleep easily for the first time in weeks with a peace of mind that Hermione and he were safe.

* * *

 **Hope you enjoy xxx**


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